Health in Conflict: New Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

For immediate release: Tuesday, December 20, 2016

“Syria has become the mirror, in which we face the grim reality that because of dismal failure at the level of politics, law, governance, and solidarity, our world has degraded in expectation, vision, and human security,” from “Comment: The Lancet–American University of Beirut Commission on Syria: A New Role for Global Health in Conflict and A Call for Papers,” The Lancet 388, Dec 17 (2016): 2967-2968.

Harvard professor and FXB director Jennifer Leaning is one of three co-chairs of the newly launched The Lancet-American University of Beirut Commission on Syria: Health in Conflict. The commission will examine the Syrian crisis, develop recommendations to address unmet current and future health needs, and mobilize a stronger international response.

The commission’s launch was accompanied by an introductory “Comment,” published online in The Lancet, by co-chairs Samer Jabbour, Jennifer Leaning, and  Iman Nuwayhid,  along with Pam Das, senior executive editor, and Richard Horton, editor-in-chief from The Lancet. As the Comment says, “As members of the global health community, we must acknowledge our collective responsibility to respond through what we do best: science and advocacy. In so doing, we hope to advance global research, collaboration, and advocacy on matters of life and death in conflict—certainly at the core of our mission as health professionals in a globalised and increasingly violent world.” The Comment is also a call for papers with evidence and research to assist the commission’s inquiry; such papers should be submitted through The Lancet’s online system.

Photo courtesy of the American University of Beirut